Posts tagged Observation
Quantum Mechanics (QM) is fascinating. Why? Because it’s mind boggling as well as incredibly precise in its predictions. Actually, Quantum Electrodynamics is often said to be the most exact physical theory that exists! It’s extraordinary features have made it a cognitive schism, and thus…
5 notes (via cogitare)
READ. READ. READ. If you like music, just read. A good article.
Simian songs specifically designed to appeal to monkeys have been composed by scientists, in an experiment that sheds new light on the evolutionary origins of Man’s taste for music.
Cotton-top tamarin monkeys, who normally turn a deaf ear to music, show marked changes in mood when they are played tunes composed with their voices and hearing in mind, research has shown.
The findings suggest that the historical roots of human appreciation of music may stretch deep into our evolutionary past, to the common ancestors we share with monkeys.
The way in which different types of music invoke different emotional responses, such as calming people down or psyching them up, could be related to the way other primates react to the calls of other group members…
Cosmological Timescale.
This graph depicts an approximate period of time span since the big bang to the present day. I find it fascinating when I consider the history of the universe and the enormous amount of time in relation to my own existence in this world. It’s amazing to think that the orange bit at the end depicts the age of the earth and the tiny blue bit depicts all multi-cellular life.
It is important to note that this is an approximation and that this is based upon my own research, some of you will note that many key events have been left out; this is only due to the practical limitation of depicting such a vast expanse of time in a small post. I may create an animated version with more information in due course. I would also like to confess that I am not an expert in this field and despite my attention to detail & accuracy, there could be some small errors.
The orange bit will be discussed in the next graph.
Geological Timescale.
This graph depicts an approximate age of the earth to the present day. The Earth has gone through some turbulent changes in its history and our existence does not even register at this scale. The Blue, Green, Orange & Brown bits at the end depict all multi-cellular life.
The time span of life will be discussed in the next graph.
Evolutionary Timescale.
This graph depicts an approximate evolutionary period to the present day. The time it has taken for life to evolve is immense spanning 530 Million years; note that human development is the tiny yellow bit at the end of this scale.
The time span of human development will be discussed in the next graph.
Hominid Timescale.
This graph depicts an approximate evolutionary period from the earliest Hominids to present day Humans. The time it has taken for Humans to evolve is 2 Million years; note that humans only started to develop agriculture in the past 12 Thousand years, which is depicted by the tiny green bit at the end.
The time span of Agricultural development and Civilisation will be discussed in the next graph.
Timescale of recorded human history.
This graph depicts the approximate amount of time from the earliest human settlers to the present day. Again, you may notice many important events have been left out, again due to the limitations of the medium.
But the time it has taken for Humans to develop technology, create & destroy civilisations has only happened in the last 12 Thousand years; note that it is in the last 100 years that we have become industrialised, learned how to manipulate electricity, and create a global market. With our ability to change our surroundings, its no wonder that humans think themselves above all other species. However, when we consider our place in context to the entire expanse of time and space, is a humbling experience.
2 notes
Page 1 of 2
